Conseil Lunch & Bar

Much as I love fresh seafood, I am not a huge fan of turban shells (sazai), the specialty of the Oki Islands. For the first two days of our trip, turban shells were part of the menu, but thankfully not the only thing served. On the third day, we were scheduled to have lunch at the restaurant Conseil, whose specialty is sazai-don -- rice topped with sliced turban shells boiled with soy sauce, local seaweeds, and soft boiled egg (not for people who do not like a slimy meal). I was prepared to fill myself with plain rice However, I was pleasantly surprised. Conseil has a varied menu so if you, like me, don't particularly fancy sazai, there are plenty of other things to chose from. I had the gigantic ebi-fry sitting on top of curry. The curry was so delicious and obviously not from a packaged roux. I mopped up every bit with the rice. Owner Akie Konishi let me in on their secret -- the curry is blended with compote. If you find yourself in Nishinoshima, treat yourself with some of the best prawn curry you'll ever have at Conseil.